Notice2026-09776
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Port of Adak Pier 5 Improvements Project at Adak Island, Alaska
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
May 15, 2026
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
In accordance with regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as amended, notification is hereby given that NMFS has issued an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to The Aleut Corporation (TAC) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to the Port of Adak Pier 5 Improvements Project at Adak Island, Alaska.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 94 (Friday, May 15, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 94 (Friday, May 15, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27926-27927]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-09776]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XF698]
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities;
Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Port of Adak Pier 5
Improvements Project at Adak Island, Alaska
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; issuance of incidental harassment authorization.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with regulations implementing the Marine Mammal
Protection Act (MMPA) as amended, notification is hereby given that
NMFS has issued an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to The
Aleut Corporation (TAC) for authorization to take marine mammals
incidental to the Port of Adak Pier 5 Improvements Project at Adak
Island, Alaska.
DATES: This authorization is effective for 1 year from the date of
notification by the IHA-holder, not to exceed 1 year from the date of
issuance (May 12, 2026).
ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the application and supporting
documents, as well as a list of the references cited in this document,
may be obtained online at: <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-take-authorizations-construction-activities">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-take-authorizations-construction-activities</a>. In case of problems accessing these documents, please call
the contact listed below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Howard Goldstein, Office of Protected
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427-8417.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
MMPA Background and Determinations
The MMPA prohibits the ``take'' of marine mammals, with certain
exceptions. Among the exceptions is section 101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA
(16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) which directs the Secretary of Commerce (as
delegated to NMFS) to allow, upon request, the incidental, but not
intentional, taking by harassment of small numbers of marine mammals by
U.S. citizens who engage in a specified activity (other than commercial
fishing) within a specified geographical region if certain findings are
made and the public has an opportunity to comment on the proposed IHA.
Specifically, NMFS shall issue an IHA if it finds that the taking
will have a negligible impact on the species or stock(s) and will not
have an unmitigable adverse impact on the availability of the species
or stock(s) for taking for subsistence uses (where relevant). Further,
NMFS must prescribe the permissible methods of taking and other ``means
of effecting the least [practicable] adverse impact'' on the affected
species or stocks and their habitat, paying particular attention to
rookeries, mating grounds, and areas of similar significance, and on
the availability of the species or stocks for taking for certain
subsistence uses (referred to here as ``mitigation''). NMFS must also
prescribe requirements pertaining to the monitoring and reporting of
such takings. The definitions of key terms, such as ``take,''
``harassment,'' and ``negligible impact,'' can be found in the MMPA and
the NMFS' implementing regulations (see 16 U.S.C. 1362; 50 CFR
216.103).
On March 12, 2026, a notice of NMFS' proposal to issue an IHA to
TAC for take of marine mammals incidental to the Port of Adak Pier 5
Improvements Project at Adak Island, Alaska was published in the
Federal Register (91 FR 12148). In that notice, NMFS indicated the
estimated numbers, type, and methods of incidental take proposed for
each species or stock, as well as the mitigation, monitoring, and
reporting measures that would be required should the IHA be issued. The
Federal Register notice also included analysis to support NMFS'
preliminary conclusions and determinations that the IHA, if issued,
would satisfy the
[[Page 27927]]
requirements of section 101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA for the issuance of
the IHA. The Federal Register notice included web links to a draft IHA
for review, as well as other supporting documents.
No substantive comments were received during the 30-day public
comment period. There are no changes to the specified activity, the
species taken, the proposed numbers, type, or methods of take, or the
mitigation, monitoring, or reporting measures in the proposed IHA
notice. No new information that would change any of the preliminary
analyses, conclusions, or determinations in the proposed IHA notice has
become available since that notice was published, and therefore, the
preliminary analyses, conclusions, and determinations included in the
proposed IHA are considered final.
National Environmental Policy Act
To comply with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA;
42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and NOAA Administrative Order (NAO) 216-6A,
NMFS must review our proposed action (i.e., the issuance of an IHA)
with respect to potential impacts on the human environment. This action
is consistent with categories of activities identified in Categorical
Exclusion B4 (IHAs with no anticipated serious injury or mortality) of
the Companion Manual for NAO 216-6A, which do not individually or
cumulatively have the potential for significant impacts on the quality
of the human environment and for which we have not identified any
extraordinary circumstances that would preclude this categorical
exclusion. Accordingly, NMFS has determined that the issuance of the
IHA qualifies to be categorically excluded from further NEPA review.
Endangered Species Act
Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531
et seq.) requires that each Federal agency insure that any action it
authorizes, funds, or carries out is not likely to jeopardize the
continued existence of any endangered or threatened species or result
in the destruction or adverse modification of designated critical
habitat. To ensure ESA compliance for the issuance of IHAs, NMFS
consults internally whenever we propose to authorize take for
endangered or threatened species, in this case with the Alaska Regional
Office.
NMFS Office of Protected Resources (OPR) is authorizing take of
Mexico DPS of humpback whale, Western North Pacific DPS of humpback
whale, and Western DPS of Steller sea lion which are listed under the
ESA. We have determined that the action is likely to adversely affect
these species of marine mammals and requested initiation of section 7
consultation with the NMFS Alaska Regional Office for the issuance of
this IHA. The resultant Biological Opinion determined that the action
was not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of Mexico DPS of
humpback whale, Western North Pacific DPS of humpback whale, and
Western DPS of Steller sea lion or adversely modify critical habitat.
Authorization
Accordingly, consistent with the requirements of section
101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA, NMFS has issued an IHA to TAC for
authorization to take marine mammals incidental to the Port of Adak
Pier 5 Improvements Project at Adak Island, Alaska.
Dated: May 12, 2026.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2026-09776 Filed 5-14-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on May 15, 2026.
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